The tremendous increase in oil field activity has been good for McKenzie County as it has created many jobs and brought new people to the community. But at the same time, the increase has also brought in a large amount of heavy truck traffic which has caused problems with many of county’s roads.

As the community of Watford City grows, residents of the community have found the need for more space, especially when it comes to the space available within the Healthy Hearts Wellness Center.
With a monthly average of more than 1,950 visits per month and a monthly high of 2,400 visits, space has become a problem for Wellness Center members.

If you’re accustomed to using U.S. Forest Service Roads for recreation purposes, you’ll want to make sure that you check in with your local Forest Service office for a new map before you travel on any of your favorite Forest Service roads.
The Forest Service plans to close some 800 miles of existing roads in the Little Missouri National Grasslands in western North Dakota. Road closures may not be permanent, but once the roads are closed, the Forest Service plans to enforce the law.

For residents of McKenzie County, there never seems to be a good time to travel. The year started out with the struggles of driving on winter roads. Then, drivers were faced with large increases in traffic on almost all of the county’s roads. Now, you can’t go any direction in the county without encountering some form of road construction. And the end doesn’t seem to be near.

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Water Appropriations, secured more than $35 million Tuesday for Fargo-Moorhead flood control work. He also obtained additional investments in other important North Dakota water projects, and a number of major energy research and development projects in North Dakota, and in the Research Corridors he created in the state.

Phase I of the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway Corridor Study has been completed. The study was aimed at identifying transportation needs on area highways, including United States Highway 85 which runs between Williston and Grassy Butte.

Thanks to continued growth in the energy sector, taxable sales in McKenzie County and Watford City continued to grow at a double digit clip in the first quarter of 2010 according to the figures released by the office of the North Dakota Tax Commissioner.

A late night burglary resulted in extensive building damage to Larsen Service Drug as burglars, who failed to break into the rear door, used stronger force to gain admission to the Watford City Main Street business.

s there oil or natural gas reserves under the old city landfill that, if developed, could bring some extra money to the Watford City city coffers? No one knows for sure, but during Watford City City Council’s July 6 meeting, council members approved a three-year lease of the 40 mineral acres that the city owns to Empire Oil Company.

For more than 30 years, Ed Rettig has been working to keep Alexander and McKenzie County safe from fire. It’s a job that he started as a way to give back to the community. A job that has taken many hours of dedication is now giving back to him with the 2010 McKenzie County Emergency Responder of the Year award.

Across western North Dakota, cities and counties are scrambling to come up with a way to meet growing housing needs as well as struggling to meet needed infrastructure improvements to handle growing traffic demand on state and county highway systems. In most cases, local government doesn’t have the resources to handle the problems associated with the increased growth as a result of the growing oil and gas industry. And to make matters worse, they have no idea of what the future holds in store for them in the way of continued growth.

After nearly 30 years as a firefighter, Harold Larson of Arnegard still enjoys serving his community and helping those in need. When Larson joined the fire department 30 years ago, he didn’t do it looking for recognition. He did it because he saw a need.

Oil is big business in western North Dakota, and the biggest challenge continues to be moving the oil out of North Dakota.
Quintana, a Houston, Texas-based company has a proposal that could ultimately help to move some of North Dakota’s oil out of the state.